Thursday, October 27, 2011

Last night in glass class, I made two rather awkward looking turtles. Both are currently in the kiln hardening so as to last forever in their awkwardness. But I did come home with this flower. It was kind of fun to make, especially the pulling of the petals. You can see the tweezer marks, which adds something in my mind. Now to find a little home for this flower....

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

I realized I never shared my weekend adventures! The manfriend and I took a little day trip out to Philly to Lancaster County. Yes, we saw an Amish horse and buggy. Multiples actually. And yes, that made me happy. Yes, I said hi to the cows on our journey. It was truly pure delight.

The reason for our journey though, was to visit this place. Yes, we went to see wolves. They are AWESOME. (In retrospect, I should have done a bit more dancing on the trip. Because Dancing with Wolves is so much better than DWTS. Yeah, and I haven't even had sugar this afternoon. Makes you wonder, doesn't it!) This preserve helps to save wolves all over the country. They have some that used to be pets, some that are just pups still and some veterans who are 17 or 18 years old. This pack, pictured below, is the largest of the various packs they have. They have 3 acres of land to roam on. And my goodness, they are simply beautiful creatures. I learned a lot - the preserve's focus is on education - and really enjoyed the experience.Afterwards, we went JoBoy's Brew Pub for lunch. The raves on Yelp commented on their exceptional BBQ. Both the manfriend and I tested those reviews with the sampler sandwiches. It's good - the pork and beef were definitely our faves. The beer was decent according to manfriend. I taste tested a glass of wine instead....

And then it was onward... Yelp helped us find Wilbur's Chocolates. I do love a good chocolate shop. They did have some not quite right looking sponge candy there. I thought about buying but decided to stick with what I knew wouldn't disappoint me. I'm glad I did! The buds are good and my chocolate bar with crispy pieces helped make the journey home even better....Wolves, food, wine and chocolate: Yep, an utterly delightful day spent in Lancaster County.

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Years and years ago, when I was in college, I served on student government.During my term in office, a hate crime occurred on campus.Someone – multiple someones probably – burned a cross on campus between two residence halls.That moment and the subsequent days after that forever changed who I am.As I met with other students, including members of the Black Student Union, I heard the fear in their voice and saw the concern – for safety, for comfort, for understanding – on their face.During the days that followed, I spoke with college officials, local media, and a variety of law enforcement officers.But the people that truly mattered – that I was working for – were the students in that room.Their pain echoes inside me whenever I hear of a hate crime.It reminds me that we’re all in this together.And that hate must be continual fought.We have to stand up and stand together in saying this is not okay.This is not what our community is about.

I share all of this because this morning a friend and colleague shared a photo on Facebook of a hate crime in his community. Someone spray painted words of hate on the LGBT Center. And it stirred up those old emotions – anger, sadness, and that sense of disbelief.I just don’t get how people can do such a thing.How can you hate someone because of who they are?Color, sexual orientation, religion – those are things we just are.How we are born.It overwhelms me to think that 10, 20, 30 years from now we might still be facing these challenges.Yet the optimist in me remains ever hopefully.Goodness knows we’re more accepting and embracing than we were 20 years ago. It’s moments like this, where I turn the action of hate over and over in my head failing to understand why, that leave me hoping for the future the most.We have to make it better.

Monday, October 17, 2011

Oh yes, autumn weather is in the air. How do I know, you ask? I was inclined to pull out the yarn and the needles and start knitting this weekend!! Knitting has taken a backseat in my crafting in the last year or so. Actually, it seems like crafting has taken a backseat to being out in the world... but I'm re-engaging through knitting. I cast on.... are you sitting down?... legwarmers to go over my tights and under my boots. No, I won't be pulling a full on 80s nightmare. I'm just looking for a wee bit more warmth when wearing my rainboots this year.

Anywho, I've found time on the couch with needles, yarn and a cuppa chai is just about the perfect weekend morning. Too bad it's not the weekend anymore!

Friday, October 7, 2011

Thursday, October 6, 2011

I'm still eating apple pie from Sunday. And it really does get better.... just so yummy. I also took the rest of the apples in my fridge and made applesauce filled with cinnamon, making my whole home smell magically wonderful. All of the apples are gone now. At least until the farmer's market on Saturday. I really need to think about what to make next - both from apples and from other fall bounty.

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

This past weekend, my friend Katie and I used a LivingSocial deal we had and went pottery painting. The pottery place is a BYO in the center of a town so we picked up a bottle of wine and headed over. After much looking around (seriously, we were practicing our indecisiveness) I finally settled on a pasta bowl. I went with a simple palette of paints - yellow, blue and green - to match a square plate I painted a few years ago. I added some black lettering - "Eat Me" - and my pottery painting signature of a fingerprint chick and initials and was done. I get it back in a week and can't wait to see the final product! It was a fun evening and a great deal.

Monday, October 3, 2011

On Sunday, I spent some time with my kitchen, making a pot of chili (after all, October is National Chili Month!). Ted brought over some home brew so I had some beer for it. It simmered most of the afternoon, making the apartment smell delicious. And while that was simmering, I used the spoils from my apple picking to make an apple pie, using the recipe in the Glamour cookbook. It's a little less traditional - you cook the apples for 20 minutes before putting it in the pie crust - but completely yummy. It came out runny and beyond good. Lucky manfriend, I'm serving chili, cornbread and apple pie tonight for dinner!

Sunday, October 2, 2011

Yesterday was the perfect day for an outing to the farm. Apple and pumpkin picking ensued. And some goofiness. Luckily my friend Katie was a willing accomplice. We picked a bunch of Empire apples. I pretended to eat one. I walked among the apple trees, spun in circles until I got dizzy and found the Delicious and Empires playing nicely together. Then we boarded the hayride truck to the pumpkin patch. Oh, how I love the pumpkin patch! Many pretty orange pumpkins, big and small, just waiting for a good home. I found two little ones - one for Ted and one for me - to take home. The pumpkin field is surrounded by sunflowers. Bright, beautiful, tall, sunny sunflowers. It was a wonderful afternoon! I am so grateful for the sun and fun. And the picking has yielded a number of delights.... autumn decorations around the home and a yummy pie just out of my oven.